Tuesday, March 20, 2018

The resort we have stayed in is surrounded by the Ghost Gum tree, one of the many eucalyptus trees that grown here. It has a smooth bark that is strikingly white. Out in the park area are blonde grasses that the green desert oak sit in. The blonde grass, the green trees, the red rock and the blue sky help me understand why Georgia O’Keefe left NYC for Arizona.

Kata Tjuta

Before leaving the Red Center for Cairns, we first traveled out to Kata Tjuta, Many Heads in English. It is a spectacular formation of 36 rounded domes. At the look out platform where one can get a good look at the entirety of Kata Tjuta, a glance around also reveals the nearby Uluru. I appreciated this formation more than Uluru. It was made up of well rounded boulders that form deep narrow valleys among them. We hiked up a long the sloping area to Walpa Gorge and a water hole. As we climbed up we had wonderful views of the Outback. There were conglomerate boulders along the way that looked like they had been tossed to the ground by Giants. Once again at the waterhole the temperature was cool and refreshing as opposed to the 100+ degrees we walked through. All the guides insist that we drink a pint of water an hour and apply sun block every two hours. Most of them wear long pants and long sleeved shirts.

Flying Foxes

Back at the resort we had lunch and prepared for our flight to Cairns, on the east coast. It was quite a change in one day from the desert to the tropical area of Cairns. We are so delighted to have trees full of hanging flying fox bats outside our hotel room balcony. The locals have little use for the squawking and pooping the bats provide. But they are endangered and left alone...yea! Tonight we had a lecture from a marine biologist, Dave O’Brien, on the Great Barrier Reef. He gave insights into what we might see tomorrow on our cruise and snorkeling adventure at this World Heritage site. Hundreds maybe even thought of pictures of Kata Tjuta are at flickr.